Parts and bikes

[Luke]

OK so I thought I had finally managed to grab a fixed gear bike.
Reiker frame, slightly older, road ready with a back brake. Bought it
from TradeMe for $500 and was about to get it shipped to Auckland when
the guy realised it was a stolen bike thanks to a police report sent
to his bike shop. So back to the original owner it goes and I'm still
fixie less.

AK really is quite poor for alternative type bikes - look on TradeMe
and there's lots of 3 or 4 grand racing bikes, some $100 cheap family
cruisers, and not a lot in between. There are a few older, classic
racing bikes and frames (Peugot, Bianchi, TVT, etc) but I'm not even
sure I could get the necessary parts to convert it if I purchased
one.

So I'm getting quite frustrated in trying to find fixed parts (heard
it's much easier to swap the whole back wheel out when doing a
conversion) and full bikes around. The only new local track bike seems
to be the stock-standard Bianchi Pista track from Torpedo7, which I've
heard have pretty low grade parts and are a dime a dozen in the US.

So any tips on where to buy new or used parts, or full fixed bikes?

[martinv]

Hi Luke,

Have you tried Bicyclette in Auckland? I read about them in North and
South magazine. They have fixed gear and single speed Masi if I
remember correctly. The staff also seem enthusiastic, though I've
only corresponded by E-Mail with them. Check out the parts section on
www.fixedgear.co.nz for some other ideas.

I'm also contemplating bringing in some more bits from Harris Cyclery
some time; maybe it's possible to combine an order.

I'm pretty sure than any bike could be converted to fixed gear. The
worst case would be having to buy a new rear wheel. Now for a budget
job, that should be hub (guessing $35 for cheap screw-on), spokes $36
for 36, rim $50, sprocket $40, build time of 1 hour $60. Hmm, $221
total. That's quite a bit for a 'might be needed, might not,
expense'. On the other hand you may well not have to build a new rear
wheel - it's a bit of a gamble though.

That's a shame about the Riker being stolen. Good thing you found out
before the deal went through though!

...My thought would be to buy a classic, and convert it, but that's
just my opinion. :-)

[martinv]

Oh, another thing - I'm not sure if it's a pattern, but my experience
has been that older bike shops are usually more accommodating when it
comes to doing anything that involves labour, like building a wheel,
repairing a bike, converting etc. I'm not sure if it's a pattern, but
the bright and clean chain stores seem to prefer selling a nice new
bike rather than considering repairing the old one. It might pay to
ask around in your area to find a willing shop; it's hard to be
motivated with your project when the local bike shop is telling you to
throw your bike in the rubbish and buy a new one.

Regards,

-Martin

[Luke]

hey martin et al,

thought i'd chip in some options as i've got a bit more experience
now....

bike central (http://www.bikecentral.co.nz) in britomart in auckland
has built my frame from trademe up into a single speed, to be fixed
next week. they built up a couple wheels, including back wheel with
flip flop hub, stripped of some of the unnecessary bits, and generally
did the hard work.

logic sell a chain wheel set (cranks, bottom bracket, and chainring)
for $92
they also sell a track hub set for $NZ 100 for a pair
http://www.logiccomponents.co.nz/

reiker cycles also have a page for track parts, including hubs,
sprockets, and chain rings.
http://www.reikercycles.co.nz/cat/components/track_parts/

cheers
luke

[henry]

Hi,

i am in the process of doing a conversion of a old road frame
i recommend using ebay for all the fixed specific parts eg:
Hubs&cranks you can buy made up very nice wheel sets with flipflop
hubs starting from $130US from this ebay shop
http://stores.ebay.com/wheelandsprocket_Fixed-Track-Singlespeed_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ14833811QQftidZ2QQtZkm.

Good luck

henry

On 26 Apr, 16:13, Luke <luke.m...@gmail.com> wrote:
> hey martin et al,
>
> thought i'd chip in some options as i've got a bit more experience
> now....
>
> bike central (http://www.bikecentral.co.nz) in britomart in auckland
> has built my frame from trademe up into a single speed, to be fixed
> next week. they built up a couple wheels, including back wheel with
> flip flop hub, stripped of some of the unnecessary bits, and generally
> did the hard work.
>
> logic sell a chain wheel set (cranks, bottom bracket, and chainring)
> for $92

> they also sell a track hub set for $NZ 100 for a pairhttp://www.logiccomponents.co.nz/

>
> reiker cycles also have a page for track parts, including hubs,

> sprockets, and chain rings.http://www.reikercycles.co.nz/cat/components/track_parts/

[Slim]

My first fixed gear bike was a Fuji track. It was about $700 brand
new. Not sure what they retail for now but would have thought around
this figure. Although it's called "Track" it is pretty much road
ready. I bought a front brake with mine and it was ready to go. They
are, like the Pista, a "dime a dozen" elsewhere but that doesn't stop
them being a nice bike. The hubs are just fine (sealed Formulas) and
mine have had a thrashing. I have ridden them off road too without
any complaint (apart from the rider). The stock rims weren't up to
much and I rebuilt my wheels ($60 per rim) and I built them myself so
was able to save some $there. The rest of the spec is fine if a bit
basic - oh, the stem was a bit crappy and I have changed that. The
headset looks a bit generic but I've not had any problems with it so
far. The crank looks kinda nasty but feels solid. There's not a lot
else on a track bike and you can always upgrade as you go. So far,
the bike has been very dependable.

It is a great bike to ride - I have raced it on the track and I have
also done some pretty long (140km) road rides on it and it is as
comfortable as any other road racing bike I've ridden. There are many
Fuji stockists in NZ so it should be reasonably easy to get your hands
on one. Other manufacturers do off the shelf fixies too for not a lot
of $ but they tend to be harder to get hold of here. My local bike
shop has a nice Jamis track bike with drillings for brakes.

I think you can get a Surly Steamroller from Cycle Supplies in Chch
too.

I have a couple of conversions too but it is still hard to beat a
brand new bike.

Simon

On May 12, 1:36 pm, henry <henrywadworthwa...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> i am in the process of doing a conversion of a old road frame
> i recommend using ebay for all the fixed specific parts eg:
> Hubs&cranks you can buy made up very nice wheel sets with flipflop

> hubs starting from $130US from this ebay shophttp://stores.ebay.com/wheelandsprocket_Fixed-Track-Singlespeed_W0QQc....

> > > > So any tips on where to buy new or used parts, or full fixed bikes?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -